Bid for levee path in Ama to be considered Monday

A long-awaited project to complete a bicycle path on top of the Mississippi River levee in the Ama area is scheduled to be awarded by the St. Charles Parish Council on Monday.

The contract for the 3.51 mile path extension from the Davis Diversion Canal to the Jefferson Parish line is scheduled to be awarded to Barriere Construction of Metairie at a cost of $798,000. The job is scheduled to be complete in 45 working days.

The project is being paid for with federal funds administered by the state and will be supervised by the parish, which also paid the engineering fees.

The path currently extends from the Davis Diversion to Elm Street in Hahnville.When complete, the west bank path will stretch 10.7 miles from the parish line to Elm Street in Hahnville.

Also on the agenda is a measure by Parish Councilman Paul Hogan to require the parish administration to notify the council at least six months before the expiration of a professional service contract.

The measure is designed to give council members an opportunity to seek new proposals for a contract such as mosquito control or garbage service.

Council members said they felt blind-sided last year when the St. Pierre administration asked it to renew the mosquito control contract when the contract was scheduled to expire within weeks.

The meeting will be held at the parish courthouse in Hahnville, 15045 River Road. The meeting will be televised by Cox Communications and video will be available later on the parish's web site.